Pessary package



Jan. 16, 1951 E. HOLTMAN PESSARY PACKAGE Filed April 5, 1948 A T TOR/V5 Y5 2 Patented Jan. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PAT ENT F FIC E' PESSARY PACKAGE Application April 3-, 1948, Serial No. 18,749

Claims.

This invention relates to a pessary package and more particularly to a package containing a laterally compressible occlusive pessary together with accessory supplies.

Laterally compressible, occlusive pessaries come in a great variety of sizes and shapes. Some of them are of circular configuration and have continuously flexible rims, while others are of circular, elliptical or horse shoe configuration and have rims which are generally rigid, but which have zones of flexure provided at opposite ends. When a pessary of the kind referred to is laterally compressed or partially folded, it has a tendency to return to its original shape, and if inserted in such a condition between box walls which do not permit it fully to expand to its original shape, the pessary will be retained under compression and will be caused to adhere by friction to the walls.

By varying the degree of compression and choosing a box of suitable dimensions, pessaries of various sizes can be packed under compression in identical boxes. In fact, for all of the twenty or more different sizes, not more than one or two box sizes are required.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a pessary package comprising a box and a laterally compressed occlusive pessary therein.

It is amore specific object toprovide a pessary package comprising, in combination, a box, a laterally compressible, occlusive pessary contained therein, and accessory supplies also contained in the box, the pessary being held within the box in compressed condition.

With a construction of the kind referred to, it is possible to standardize upon just one or two sizes and styles of box for accommodating the whole line of laterally compressible occlusive pessaries, together with their accessory supplies.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing forming part of this specification Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly in section, showing a novel illustrative package embodying the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, taken upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

As shown in the drawing, the box comprises a body I which includes a bottom 2, side walls 3 and end walls l. The body is in the form of a shallow tray and is formed at the upper margins of the side and end walls 3 and 4 with a continuously extending external rabbet'or recess 5. The It in,

cover 6 is :complementary. to the body. cludes a top 7, side walls 8, and end walls 9. The. side and end walls are formed at their lower margins with a continuously extending internal rabbet in. body, but is otherwise of. the same dimensions as the box body. The reduced marginal portion of the cover fits into the external rabbet of the body, While the reduced marginal portion of. the;

in order to insert it between the side walls 8 of l the cover. A pessary l l is shown compressed and inserted in the cover and held frictionally in place by compression against the side walls 3' of the cover.

The box body is desirably made of appropriate dimensions to carry two tubes I2 and I3 of ointment such as jelly or creme and an introducer M. The tubes I2 and I3 are arranged substantially end to end, while the. introducer I4 is disposed. on edge alongside the tubes, and has a length substantially equal to the combined lengths of the tubes. The dimensions of the box body are chosen to accommodate comfortably, but without substantial waste space, the two tubes of ointment and the introducer. The introducer is an elongated rod-lik structure having certain curves and projections formed upon it. A conventional introducer has substantially the appearance and dimensions illustrated. Since the structure is well known and well understood, no detailed description of it is deemed necessary.

The box body is provided with loose partition members which are inserted in order to assure the maintenance of an orderly disposition ofthe.

tubes and the introducer in the box. The partition members l5 are pieces of cardboard, folded.

to provide relatively short and long sections. The short sections are disposed in abutting relation between the tubes l2 and I3, while the long sections are disposed in aligned relation to define an introducer compartment separate from the tube compartments.

There is a great economy in being able to pack a number of sizes of pessaries into one type of box. By choosing a box as illustrated of appropriate dimensions, the various sizes can be packed in the same box under compression. Otherwise a variety of sizes of boxes would be necessary, unless a very considerable waste of container size The cover is shallower than the box were resorted to with large containers used to pack small pessaries.

It has been customary to put up for the use of the patient so-called sets containing a pessary introducer with one or two tubes of ointment, which are also elongated objects, together with a pessary. To package these sets very large boxes have been used heretofore because of the shapes of the various objects. By packing the pessary in the compressed or elongated form the shape of the pessary tends to approximate the shape of the tubes and of the introducer, so that these objects can be fitted into a simple elongated box, one-half to one-third the size of those heretofore employed. This is important both in warehousing and selling, and also for the patient in use.

The resulting package is unobtrusive and compact and fits conveniently into a medicine cabinet or a drawer. The package can be conveniently used by the patient with the pessary held under compression in the cover. This method of mounting the pessary makes the other articles in the package conveniently accessible when the cover is removed.

In order to determine whether or not this method of packaging is practical, tests have been carried out with pessaries packed in a compressed form over a period of several years to determine whether the compression of the pessary tends to distort it. It has been established that packing the pessary in this manner does not distort it, if the pessary is properly made, and that this method of packing is quite practicable.

While a box having a slip-on cover has been illustratively shown and described, it is evident,

of course, that the style of box may be varied without departing from the invention. Any box construction and any practice may be resorted to so long as the box body or the box cover provides a pessary space of less width than the normal width of the pessary, in which the pessary is lodged in a compressed condition.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiments shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pessary package comprising a box body and a cover therefor, a laterally compressible occlusive pessary contained within the cover, the internal free width of the cover being less than the normal width of the pessary, and the pessary being laterally compressed to fit in the cover under compression and frictionally retain its position, and accessory supplies packed in the body of the box comprising two tubes of ointment arranged end to end and an introducer disposed alongside the tubes, the extreme dimensions of the accessory supplies when so arranged being appropriate substantially to fit the length, Width and depth of the box body.

2. A pessary package comprising a box body and a cover therefor, a laterally compressible occlusive pessary contained within the cover, the

internal free width of the cover being less than the normal width of the pessary, and the pessary being laterally compressed to fit in the cover under compression and frictionally retain its position, accessory supplies packed in the body of the box comprising two tubes of ointment arranged end to end and an introducer disposed alongside the tubes, the extreme dimensions of the accessory supplies when so arranged being appropriate substantially to fit the length, width and depth of the box body, and partitions in the body defining separate compartments for the introducer and for the respective tubes.

3. A pessary package comprising a box body and a cover therefor, a laterally compressible occlusive pessary contained within the cover, the internal free width of the cover being less than the normal width of the pessary, and the pessary being laterally compressed to fit in the cover under compression and frictionally retain its position, and accessory material packed in the body of the box, comprising at least one tube of ointment and an introducer arranged side by side, the extreme dimensions of the accessory material when so arranged being appropriate substantially to fit the length, width and depth of the box body.

4. A pessary package comprising a box body and a cover therefor, a laterally compressible 0cclusive pessary contained within the cover, the internal free width of the cover being less than the normal width of the pessary, and the pessary being laterally compressed to fit in the cover under compression and frictionally retain its position, and accessory material packed in the body of the box, comprising at least a tube of ointment, the extreme dimensions of the accessory supplies as arranged in the box being appropriate substantially to fit the length, width and depth of the box.

5. A pessary package comprising a box body and a cover therefor, a resilient, deformable occlusive pessary contained within the cover, the pessary being deformed and held frictionally in place by engagement under stress at spaced points with portions of the cover, and accessory material packed in the body of the box, comprising at least a tube of ointment, the extreme dimensions of the accessory supplies as arranged in the box being appropriate substantially to fit the length, width and depth of the box.

EDITH HOLTMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,381,036 Vericel June 7, 1921 1,616,834 Vogler Feb. 8, 1927 2,339,283 Mendel Jan. 18, 1944 2,365,556 Karg Dec. 19, 1944 2,390,900 Schmid Dec. 11, 1945 2,391,094 Karg Dec. 18, 1945 

